Be a Part of The Big Share

Community Shares of Wisconsin (CSW) and its member groups invite you to be part of our second annual online fundraising event, The Big Share™, on March 1st.

“Last year, with our 67 member groups, we raised over $232,000 in one day,” said Crystel Anders, CSW Executive Director.

“The Big Share’s focus on social media sharing creates the opportunity to connect with new donors. About 50% of last year’s donors were new, which is phenomenal.”

Many Co-op Owners already support CSW and its member groups through the Community CHIP® program. The Big Share is another option for people to give, and donors can direct their gifts to specific nonprofits.

“With a $10 minimum donation, giving is possible for so many,” Anders said. “And when you pool all of those small donations, it adds up to a significant amount and makes a big difference to the nonprofits.”

A priority for CSW is offering trainings so that staff at our nonprofits improve their skills using social media and other tools. Thanks to our partnership with the UW School of Journalism, these are cutting-edge trainings. This assistance to our groups is thanks in part to sponsorship from Madison Community Foundation and MG&E, and a generous grant from The Evjue Foundation.

Katie Beilfuss, Program Manager at Wisconsin Wetlands Association, said that “The Big Share training from CSW—especially learning how to do visually branded pieces—has really changed our social media game, and we’ve carried that through to other communications work.

“We were glad to exceed our goal last year, raising $5,000 in one day. And since half of those donors were new to us, it was really gratifying,” Beilfuss added.

You don’t have to wait until March 1st—you can make a gift now at www.thebigshare.org. From that single web page, you can select from among all the nonprofits and direct your gifts to the causes you care most about. You can also text a gift to CSW: text 608-390-3313 and enter your gift amount and the keyword “CSW” (e.g., 20 CSW).